disneyland 2016.

We spent last weekend with my family at Disneyland as a this-is-the-last-time-we'll-all-be-together-for-two-years trip.  It was such a fun time, as Disneyland usually is, and taking a kid there for the first time was a new experience.  (I was quite nervous.)

There were a few tough moments, but they were redeemed when it turned out Theo enjoyed the tea cups:

"i think i want to get out now!"

But Theo's all-time favorite Disney experience was watching and following the ducks.

my highlights:

• the Paint the Night parade.  Jon and Theo went home early the first night and missed the evening parade, but I convinced them that we should go back to Disneyland the second day (instead of California Adventure) so they could see it.  We staked our claim to awesome "seats" (a curb) three hours before the show and in my mind it was totally worth it.  When we got home I found a video of the parade online and watched it again.  I think my dream job might be to be a dancer in that parade.  Probably realized that 20 years too late.
• the three Rey costumes I saw worn by little girls and the BB-8 water bottles I spied people carrying.  I finally saw The Force Awakens a couple of weeks ago, and I'm pretty sure that if I was a teenager in the 70s I would have been a through-and-through Star Wars nerd.
• the mesmerizing lights show at the Pixie Hollow pond.  While we were defending our territory for our parade views, we walked the short distance to the pond with Theo to see the mini show.  We probably appreciated it more than he did.
• the edible garden next to Star Tours that I'd never noticed before

Disneyland, I still love you.  Especially when you knock my kid out and he sleeps in.